TORONTO, April 8 (Reuters) - Toronto's main stock index
surged 100 points on Friday as rallying commodity prices,
including a record high for gold, gave a bid to heavily
weighted resource shares.

Among the top gainers were Goldcorp G.TO, up 2.38 percent
at C$52.14, Silver Wheaton SLW.TO, up 2.96 percent at
C$44.92, and Suncor Energy SU.TO, up 3.19 percent at
C$44.67.

"The TSX seems to be bucking the trend as far as some of
the other North American markets are concerned and that's
largely because of our disproportionate weighting in
commodities and energy, both of which are having a banner day
today," said Elvis Picardo, analyst and strategist at Global
Securities in Vancouver.

Seven of the index's 10 sectors advanced, led by the energy
group, up 1.74 percent, and the mining-heavy materials group,
up 1.05 percent. Together those groups make up roughly half of
the Toronto exchange's main index.

A weak greenback and intense fighting in Libya pushed U.S.
crude prices above $113 a barrel, their highest level in 30
months, and Brent crude futures settled above $126 a barrel,
for a 32-month high.

Meanwhile, the threat of a U.S. government shutdown,
coupled with inflation fears, helped gold rise to a record high
for the fourth straight day, touching $1,474.60 an ounce.

Silver rose 2.4 percent, and copper rose about 2 percent,
to its highest level in a month. [O/R] [GOL/] [MET/L]

Canada jobs data for March may have helped market
sentiment. Although some jobs were unexpectedly lost, there was
a surge in full-time employment, reflecting solid growth.
[ID:nN08228750]

"The market has shrugged off the weak labor report,
looking, I think, more at the details than the headline number
with the loss of jobs," said Kate Warne, Canadian market
strategist at Edward Jones in St. Louis, Missouri.

Media and telecom company Cogeco Inc CGO.TO and its main
Cogeco Cable CCA.TO unit posted lower than expected quarterly
profits on Friday, squeezed by rising costs, an early debt
repayment and intense competition faced by a Portuguese
operation. Shares of Cogeco ended down 0.75 percent at
C$42.10.

Equinox Minerals EQN.TO gained 2.27 percent to C$7.67
after it said a $6.6 billion takeover bid from China's
Minmetals Resources was too low, leaving the door open to a
rival offer as miners vie for access to valuable copper
deposits. [ID:nL3E7F801Y]

Loblaw Cos L.TO rose 2.35 percent to C$38.82 after the
grocer said after market close on Thursday it plans to buy back
up to 5 percent of its shares outstanding through a normal
course issuer bid. [ID:nN07292640]

Shares of Toronto Stock Exchange owner TMX Group X.TO
ended up 1.39 percent at C$39.40. An Ontario legislator who is
critical of the proposed C$3 billion ($3.1 billion) takeover of
TMX by the London Stock Exchange LSE.L said he plans to issue
a minority report that opposes the recommendations set to come
from a legislative panel. That raised the prospect that the TMX
takeover proposal will get at least conditional approval from
the panel's majority report. [ID:nN08291885]

For the week, the TSX ended up 0.55 percent, but if oil
prices stay high, the story next week may be different, Picardo
said.

"In recent weeks we've seen this tendency for the market
to get nervous whenever crude oil spikes," he said. "That tends
to pull down the TSX because suddenly you have growth concerns
that manifest themselves."

Warne said that next week the market's focus will be
primarily on first-quarter earnings out of the United States.

"Whatever we're hearing about companies' first quarter
results as well as what they're saying current conditions are
tends to drive stocks on both sides of the border," she said.

($1=$0.96 Canadian)
(Reporting by John McCrank; editing by Peter Galloway)